As described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,134 of Foon a vertically resilient column comprises telescoping inner and outer tubes. The lower end of the outer tube stands on the ground and the upper end of the inner tube bears on the roof or ceiling. The upper end of the outer tube is frustoconically upwardly flared and annular wedges engage between this flared region and the inner tube. These wedges allow the tubes to be moved axially apart but resist movement together as the wedges bite into the inner tube. The wedges permit some downward movement of the inner tube in the outer tube, giving the column its vertical resiliency. The upper end of the inner tube is formed as a nut into which is threaded a massive bolt whose upper end bears via a rigid dished plate on the ceiling, this plate having no significant resiliency. The setting force, that is the vertical load the column is set to bear, is established by screwing this bolt out of the column against the ceiling.
This arrangement is relatively complex and expensive. Accurately establishing the desired setting force is fairly difficult.